Let's look at how "reasonable" Obama as been lately while negotiating the debt ceiling.
President Barack Obama, while defending himself and his record, as Iowa voters asked him about all the compromises he's made with Republicans. "I make no apologies for being reasonable," Obama declared on Tuesday, August 16, 2011.
So let's look at how "reasonable" Obama has been lately while negotiating the debt ceiling.
Let's see what Senator Obama said, then what President Obama said about the debt ceiling. In March, 2006, Senator Obama said, "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better." In July, 2011, President Obama said, "The good news is that all the leaders continue to believe, rightly, that it is not acceptable for us not to raise the debt ceiling and to allow the U.S. government to default. We cannot threaten the United States' full faith and credit for the first time in our history." Don't bother trying to reconcile the two statements, as they show Obama to be a colossal hypocrite.
Republicans said tense negotiations over raising the $14.3 trillion debt limit at the White House ended when President Obama stormed out of the meeting with a stern warning to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.): "Don't call my bluff. I'm going to the American people with this." Obama then "shoved back" [from the negotiating table] and said "I'll see you tomorrow." "It ended with the president abruptly walking out of the meeting," Cantor told reporters. Said Cantor, the president became "very agitated" and said he had "sat here long enough," that "Ronald Reagan wouldn't sit here like this" and "something's got to give." Obama then told Republicans they either needed to compromise on their insistence on a dollar for dollar ratio of spending cuts to debt increase or agree to a "grand bargain" including massive tax increases. "This process is confirming what the American people think is the worst about Washington," Obama said. "Everyone is more interested in posturing, political position and protecting their base than in solving problems." "I have shown enormous willingness to compromise and have taken huge heat for it," Obama continued, "but my responsibility is to the American people and there comes a point when I need to say, 'Enough.'"
Obama appeared to endorse the Senate Democratic proposal in his weekly address Saturday. "We can't simply cut our way to prosperity," Obama said. "We need to do what's necessary to grow our economy; create good, middle-class jobs; and make it possible for all Americans to pursue their dreams." Obama and White House officials have stressed repeatedly that they believe debt reduction needs to occur "in a balanced way." The administration wants a mix of spending cuts and revenue increases, as well as continued investments in areas of the economy that can help with future growth - such as education and infrastructure. Republicans have held firm that the country has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, and that cuts sooner rather than later will help bolster economic growth in the long run.
In a debt ceiling negotiation session, discussing tax increases, Obama said, "I have reached the point where I say enough" when Republicans refused to give in to him. "Would Ronald Reagan be sitting here? I've reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this."
Obama compared himself to a jilted lover. "I've been left at the altar two times now." Obama said at a news conference, referencing a deficit reduction plan that Obama and Boehner had worked on previously. Obama and Boehner offered different versions of who was responsible for the collapse of the negotiations. Obama was visibly angry at what had happened. While Obama described his relationship with Boehner as "cordial," he also complained that Boehner had not returned his phone calls on Friday.
So, for Obama, being "reasonable" means giving into his wishes, or, to put in modern vernacular, "It's my way or the highway." But that's just my opinion.
